Longhorns sloppy, but successful
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State was supposed to be better. Texas was supposed to be vulnerable.
In the end, neither team looked compete for a Big 12 title on Thursday night — but it was the Longhorns who survived the conference opener.
Shane Buechele threw for 171 yards and a score, and Texas beat Iowa State 17-7.
Chris Warren III added a rushing TD to help the Longhorns (2-2) improve to 13-2 against the Cyclones (2-2). Iowa State gained just 256 yards — and only 10 on the ground.
“The defensive performance was phenomenal,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “To hold a team to 10 yards on the ground, to get the turnovers and fourthdown stops that we did in their stadium was impressive.”
Warren had an 11-yard touchdown run and Toneil Carter caught a 22-yard TD pass from Buechele to give Texas a 14-0 halftime lead.
The game — which was about as ugly as one can get four weeks into the season — hinged on a pair of plays in a 21-second span late in the third quarter that went the Longhorns’ way.
Texas appeared to fumble away a kickoff deep in its own territory, but the runner was ruled down on replay. Iowa State then took an apparent fumbled backward pass into the end zone, but the officials ruled the ball was going forward after a review.
Jacob Park threw for 246 yards and had a career-high three interceptions for Iowa State, which had scored at least 40 points in each of its first three games.
“They brought a lot of pressure in the first half and had more guys on the line of scrimmage than there were blockers. It can put you in a tough situation,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said.